One of the biggest power plays of politics and sports at the University of Texas in decades, maybe since Darrell Royal’s last days, is rumbling through Austin. A president may be toppled before the shaking stops. But, for now, here’s what we know for sure:

The women’s track coach is out and a football coach is under fire, each guilty of improper sexual conduct.

Major Applewhite will never be head football coach at Texas.

And maybe this too: Mack Brown and DeLoss Dodds occupy the most precarious positions of their long, distinguished tenures.

In order to understand how this all developed so suddenly, you could start last month with the forced resignation of Bev Kearney, the former track coach, who admitted having a consensual, year-long relationship with one of her athletes in the early 2000s. Not a month after that controversial, high-profile separation, the campus newspaper broke a story that Applewhite engaged in a one-time sexual episode with an adult student at the 2009 Fiesta Bowl.

Now you don’t have to be a wizard to figure out that one incident led to the revelation of the other.

Kearney’s lawyer practically predicted it last month.

Derek Howard believes that the problem Texas had with his client is that she was up for a raise and five-year contract that would have paid her $150,000 annually until news of the relationship surfaced. Kearney later conceded in an interview with the Austin American-Statesman that she used “poor judgment,” but she says the university acted too harshly and, in fact, singled her out.

“Howard also thinks it may come to light,” a writer for ESPN.com wrote Jan. 10, “that not all Texas faculty or staff members have been subject to potential job termination for having consensual relationships with students.”

Next thing you know, the Daily Texan has a big story, and Texas is duly embarrassed.

Straight up: Even if it’s true, as Kearney says, that it was the only time in her career she engaged in such conduct with a student, it still should be grounds for dismissal. Unfortunately, such activity isn’t rare in college athletics. As ESPN.com noted, two of the four head coaches at this year’s NCAA volleyball championships were men married to women who once played for them. Maybe relationships developed after the women’s playing days were over, but it hardly seems likely. At any rate, anyone who’s covered college athletics can tell you about rumors involving coaches and student athletes in their charge.

And in any case where it can be documented that a coach has violated the trust, even if the student athlete legally qualifies as an adult, it should lead to termination.

Any therapist could tell you it’s not healthy to mix sex and coaching, certainly with young people. Coaches hold a position of authority over student athletes, who are asked to give of themselves far beyond what is expected of most students. You might say many, if not most, are susceptible to a psychological grip. Coaches routinely exploit the relationship to achieve athletic success, which is probably justifiable.

But not when the relationship turns sexual. Not only is it wrong for the student athlete directly involved, it impacts other members of the team, breaking trusts on every level.

Kearney got what was coming to her. The question is whether Applewhite did, too.

The scandals aren’t exactly comparable. Kearney coached the athlete in question and sustained a long-term relationship. Applewhite reportedly engaged in a one-time act with a 22-year-old student athletic trainer who was not under his supervision.

Joe Jamail, the Houston lawyer who’s donated so many millions to the university that he’s got two statues on campus, is “advising” Applewhite, and he told the Statesman that the football coach did nothing illegal.

“Spitting in the street in Austin is a bigger crime than whatever Major did,” Jamail said. “That’s a $25 fine.”

Dodds, Brown and the university may have been well within their legal bounds to freeze Applewhite’s pay for a year, send him to counseling and retain his services. Looking back on it now, the incident might even have cost Applewhite the offensive coordinator position that went to Bryan Harsin before the 2011 season, a job he’s since gained.

But were Texas’ disciplinary actions enough at the time? Maybe for 2009.

Not after Penn State.

The scandals in the two football programs were drastically different: one involved a single consensual act between adults; the other the long-term molestation of innocent boys and an unconscionable cover-up. Both involve inappropriate sexual behavior in a college athletic environment, however. If it wasn’t already apparent, the climate in the wake of the Penn State scandal requires a zero tolerance policy moving forward, not only to protect students but to restore faith in our higher institutions and their willingness to police the cash cows that their athletic programs have become.

Applewhite shouldn’t necessarily become a victim of a retroactive penalty, and by all accounts, he won’t. But someone’s going to pay, and it just might be one or more of his bosses.

Texas’ board of regents met in a rare conference call on Sunday to discuss Applewhite’s case, which, they noted with chagrin, they’d only recently become aware of. They issued a statement afterward announcing a review of policies to protect students.

As for the protection of school officials, well, that’s something else entirely. A source told the Statesman that the case is being used to challenge school president Bill Powers, a staunch backer of Dodds and Brown.

Whatever the fallout, let’s hope the university doesn’t get caught up in politics so much that it loses sight of its priorities. Students should always rank No. 1. Coaches are well-compensated to come in second.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.

About Kevin Sherrington

Kevin Sherrington, a general sports columnist, was born in Dallas and grew up in Houston. He has worked at five newspapers in Texas. He has worked at The Dallas Morning News since 1985. He had no idea his career would come to blogging.